From the Start (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
by ilna
Summary: Steve and Catherine have dinner with Carrie, John, the Rollinses, and the Staglers, and the group thinks about their early impressions of Steve. Part 3 of the REAL World Wedding Marathon.
**Notes:** Mari and Sammy – We're going on two years and, incredibly, we're having just as much fun as in those initial weeks of planning. More, even, because we know each other so well now (monobrain!), and have worked so hard to make the REAL World what it is. Nonna hugs and Jacob high-fives, ladies. Slove you both! ;-)

Readers and REAL McRollers – I can never thank you enough for your enthusiasm and support over the last two years of REAL World stories. Whether you were with us from the launch or joined along the way, we're so happy to have such wonderful, kind, dedicated readers with us on this ride. Thank you!

 **Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 _From the Start (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)_

John and Steve stood at the bar waiting for the Rollinses and Staglers to join them at Hy's Steak House. Catherine and Carrie had disappeared to the restrooms a few minutes previously, leaving the men on their own. Both had foregone their usual beers in favor of Manhattans served on the rocks.

They had been chatting idly about the growing group of family and friends arriving on the island for the wedding when Steve's phone buzzed. He checked the screen and set his drink on the bar to type out a quick response.

"That was Joseph," he told John as he pocketed his phone again and picked up his glass. "They're on the way."

John nodded, taking a drink. "You know, I remember when you were uncomfortable with the idea of meeting them, avoiding that like KP." He nodded at Steve's pocket. "Now look at you."

"Yeah, I know," Steve admitted with a regretful look. He sighed. "I just didn't want to . . . create expectations I couldn't make good on, you know?"

" 'Create expectations'?" John repeated curiously but without judgment. "That why you were okay going out with my family, Freddie's . . . even Carrie's, but not Cath's when we were at the Academy?"

"I wasn't exactly 'okay' with it, but . . . I didn't want to be ungrateful when your folks or Freddie's or Carrie's went out of their way to include me." He shifted his weight, looking into his glass as he swirled the contents. "With Cath it was . . . more complicated." He shrugged and looked at John again. "Plus the Rollinses didn't make it to Annapolis very often since Joseph was stationed overseas. Cath would usually go see them during leave instead of the other way around."

John held out his glass in a silent toast and smiled. "Well, you're certainly making good now."

Steve smiled wryly. "Yeah, it only took twenty years."

"Hey, you did what was right for the two of you," John said seriously. "No one can fault you for that."

Steve nodded appreciatively and took a drink.

John grinned. "Except maybe my wife," he said, nodding across the room as Carrie and Catherine made their way toward the bar.

Steve chuckled.

"What are you guys talking about?" Carrie asked when she and Catherine reached them.

John slid his hand around her shoulders and tucked her against his side as she took his drink from his hand and sipped. "You, of course."

"Good topic, then," she said with an approving nod.

Steve looked at Catherine with a soft smile, his own hand coming to rest on her lower back. "Your dad texted. They're on the way."

She nodded. "The host said our table's almost ready."

"Did I hear Grandma Ang isn't coming?" John asked.

"She and Nonna insisted on watching Joan so Mary and Aaron could have an evening out alone," Catherine said.

"Mary and Aaron could probably have every evening out if they wanted with the number of willing babysitters at the hotel right now," Steve commented.

Carrie grinned. "Bet Joan's in heaven with so many people doting on her."

"Spoiling her, is more like," Steve said, though he smiled fondly at the thought of his niece surrounded by people who adored her.

"Says the man at the top of that list," Catherine teased, and he shrugged unapologetically.

"Just wait'll Kevin and Nicole get here with Connor," John said, grinning knowingly at Carrie. "Then you'll see some world-class spoiling."

"Absolutely," Carrie said, as unapologetic as Steve had been, beaming at the thought of seeing her almost one-year-old nephew again. "Turns out it was a good thing they decided to come later in the week. He's had a little bit of a cold, but Nicole thinks he'll be totally over it by the time they get here Thursday."

"Oh, poor thing," Catherine said sympathetically. "I'm glad he's doing better."

"Kev and Nicole are itching for this vacation," Carrie said. "Especially Nicole after being cooped up with the sick little guy for three days straight."

"They've never been to Hawaii, have they?" Catherine asked.

"Nope. Last big trip they took was their honeymoon to the Bahamas." She looked at them pointedly and coughed with a complete lack of subtlety. "Ahem. Speaking of honeymoon . . ."

Catherine shook her head with an amused smile, and Steve hid his own grin behind his glass as he took a drink.

"Nice try," Catherine said. "But no dice."

"I have a pretty good idea," Carrie countered with a knowing look. "I'm very curious to see if I'm right."

"I wouldn't be surprised at all if you guessed," Catherine said, smiling at her best friend.

Steve nodded toward the approaching host. "Looks like our table's ready."

"And there are the parentals," Carrie said, looking in the direction he indicated and seeing her parents and Catherine's coming through the restaurant's doors.

"Punctual as always," John commented as he straightened.

"I'd expect nothing less," Steve added, and they started toward the rest of their party.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, the four couples sat around a large round table sipping cocktails having just placed their dinner orders.

Carrie looked in Steve's direction with a mischievous smile causing him to quirk a wary eyebrow. She rubbed her hands together in anticipation. "Now I have a fun little idea for this particular group. Let's all go around and tell our first impressions of Steve. I'll go first," she said without waiting for acquiescence from the rest of the table.

"Of course you will," Steve remarked with a good-natured eye roll before taking a drink. His hand rested on Catherine's on the table, his thumb rubbing her skin absently.

"I made Cath point him out to me in King the day after she met him," Carrie said, referring to the dining facility at the Academy. "Subtly, of course. And when he saw her, there was this little twinkle in his eye . . ."

It was Catherine's turn to roll her eyes. "There was not . . ."

"And he got this little smile on his face," she continued as if Catherine hadn't spoken. She pointed at Steve's face. "Yep, that's the one."

He couldn't help but chuckle at that and was joined by the rest of the table.

"So I made up my mind there and then not to tease Cath about him," Carrie said proudly.

Catherine snorted. "That lasted all of ten minutes."

"I think I showed remarkable restraint . . ." Carrie protested. She shrugged at Catherine's skeptical look. "Plebe year anyway." She looked around at the rest of the table. "Regs, you know, so nothing was going to happen. But after that, all bets were off."

"And you did not miss an opportunity," Catherine said wryly.

"I believe that," Kathie Stagler said, tossing an amused expression in her daughter's direction.

"I have no regrets," Carrie stated unequivocally and took a drink. "Particularly after I actually met him and came to the conclusion he just _might_ actually be good enough for my roomie." She smiled genuinely after her teasing words, and Steve returned her smile, tipping his glass toward her in a small salute of thanks.

His reprieve was short-lived as Carrie's smile shifted to a wicked grin. She looked at Joseph and prompted, "Papa Rollins?"

"First impressions of Steve?" Joseph asked, raising his eyebrows. He darted a glance in the younger man's direction, his lip twitching in a smile. "Clumsy and stubborn."

Bill Stagler laughed heartily. "The futon. I remember when you told me about that."

"Oh, that's right," Kathie said, smiling broadly. "What a good story."

Steve sighed resignedly, and Catherine squeezed his hand, hiding her own amused smile.

"Ten years," he said, shaking his head, "I'm still hearing about that futon."

"And you'll be hearing about it ten years from now, too," Joseph assured him, his expression full of good-natured teasing.

"Well, I remember the first time Steve joined us for dinner," Kathie said with a warm smile. "We drove out for Carrie's birthday during the girls' second year. We always invited Catherine, of course, and Carrie had started dating John by then. Steve was so hesitant, but Catherine smiled at him and he said okay."

Steve and Catherine exchanged a look, remembering it wasn't as simple as that.

 _Steve hung back a little as Bill, Kathie, Carrie, and John headed for the Staglers' van._

 _Catherine noticed immediately he wasn't beside her and stopped. She stepped back to him. "Are you okay?" she asked quietly._

 _Steve glanced at her before his eyes flicked away. "Yeah, fine," he said too quickly._

 _She stepped closer. "Steve . . ."_

 _He sighed. "I don't want to seem ungrateful, it's really nice of them to include me, I just . . ."_

" _You don't have to come. It's okay," she assured him. She gave a little shrug. "I'll miss having you there, but . . ."_

" _You want me to come?" he asked, his eyes finding hers again._

 _A small smile appeared on her face. "Well, yeah. I always want you to come." Her eyes widened slightly, and she bit her lip at revealing that much._

" _Then I'll come," he said, his gaze locked on hers._

 _Her smile grew, and her eyes glowed warmly. "Okay."_

"Those brown eyes," Steve said, throwing a quick glance in Joseph's direction. "Hard to resist."

Joseph smiled, remembering their conversation from a year ago in New York while looking at Catherine's childhood notes.

"He was a little quiet," Kathie said, continuing with her first impressions of Steve. "But always polite." She winked at Elizabeth. "And of course it was clear he was crazy about Catherine."

Steve and Catherine shared a smile.

"I appreciated having someone else to talk football with," Bill said. He patted his son-in-law's shoulder. "Since John's always been more of a baseball man." He looked around at the group, shaking his head with the next memory. "Then there were the carnival games."

Steve and John both groaned.

"I'm telling you those were rigged," Steve insisted.

John nodded his agreement. "Definitely."

"Of course they were," Elizabeth said with a chuckle. "They always are."

"But we won the stuffed animals," Steve said, straightening proudly.

"That none of us actually wanted," Carrie pointed out.

Steve shrugged. "That was pretty irrelevant at that point."

"Yeah, it was a question of honor by then," John agreed.

Bill nodded, and Elizabeth and Kathie shook their heads.

"Men," Kathie said with an amused smile. She looked at Steve and Catherine. "We did think it was a little strange you hadn't met Catherine's parents, given how close you two seemed . . . but then again we had only met them during Parents' Weekend the previous year."

Steve shifted in his seat, and Catherine squeezed his hand.

"We didn't get to Annapolis as much as we wanted while Catherine was there," Elizabeth admitted regretfully with an apologetic look at her daughter.

Catherine reached over to touch her hand and included her father, whose face had sobered, in her reassuring look. "Which I _always_ understood."

"And I found ways to avoid meeting during those years anyway," Steve admitted quietly.

Catherine's fingers tightened around his.

"It's not like it was easy to get away," Elizabeth said understandingly. "What with classwork, duties, extracurriculars . . ."

"It shouldn't have taken as long as it did," Steve said, refusing to let himself off the hook. "I knew how how important you both were to Catherine, but I . . ."

"You had your reasons," Elizabeth said kindly. "We never pushed."

"Even when we wanted to," Joseph added.

"But I knew by the way Catherine would talk about you," Elizabeth said, smiling at her daughter. "And how she would find reasons to go back to Annapolis during leaves. Stay with Greg and Jean in Baltimore. Not because she was pining away, but because she didn't want you to be alone."

Steve's eyes were on Catherine. "And I appreciated it. Every time."

She smiled, blinking back tears. He raised her hand to his lips and pressed a quick kiss to her knuckles before putting it back on the table.

Elizabeth watched the exchange with a delighted smile. "So based on everything Catherine had said, and what Joseph had reported from his own . . . inquiries, shall we say?" She tossed a teasing smile at first her husband, then her soon-to-be son-in-law.

"And that interrogation," Steve put in sardonically causing Joseph to puff up with exaggerated pride.

"And that," Elizabeth agreed, amused. "I was fully expecting to adore him from the second I met him." She smiled at Steve. "And I did. You've been a son in all but name for a very long time."

He swallowed thickly and returned her smile with a look that conveyed his overwhelming appreciation for the complete acceptance she had always shown.

"Thank you," he said earnestly, his voice rough with emotion.

Joseph nodded his agreement. "Couldn't have said it better myself." He looked at his wife, a hint of teasing in his loving eyes. "Maybe _you_ should give the speech at the reception."

"Oh, I've said what I needed to say." She patted his hand fondly. "I'll leave the rest to you."

Catherine squeezed her mother's hand again, tears filling her eyes.

Carrie smiled happily, looking around the table. "I guess the only one left is you, Cath."

"What about me?" John asked, holding his hands out incredulously, lightening the emotionally-laden moment.

She waved dismissively. "Oh, you two met on I-Day. You got your hair shaved off one after the other." She turned back to her best friend as John chuckled. "Cath?"

"Me?" Catherine said, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah, after you met at the diner and had dinner. The ribs . . ." she prompted.

Catherine's brow creased. "You already know all that. You made me spill the second I got back to our room that night."

"But we haven't heard it," Kathie said.

"And I never mind hearing it again," Elizabeth added leadingly.

Catherine sighed, but smiled as her gaze shifted to Steve. "I thought he was smart, confident. Funny." She grinned. "Cute."

He grinned back, and Carrie cleared her throat, again without subtlety. She made air quotes and corrected, " 'Very cute.' "

Catherine threw her a look, though she was unable to hold back a smile. Her expression softened as she looked back at Steve. "I thought he was special," she said. "And I thought we had a connection. Right from the start."

Steve held her gaze, his fingers threading through hers. "We did," he said quietly.

There was a brief pause as the rest of the table momentarily fell away.

"And now here you are," Carrie said, her beaming smile genuine.

"Here we are," Catherine said, her eyes still on Steve.

"Here we are," he echoed.

"Well, honey," Kathie said, looking at Carrie. "I don't know if your intention was more to embarrass Steve or melt all our hearts, but I'd say you succeeded at both. Though a little more at the latter."

Carrie smiled with equal parts satisfaction and joy. "Then my work here is done."

* * *

After enjoying a delicious dinner together, the four couples went their separate ways, knowing they'd be seeing each other plenty over the next week leading up to the wedding.

Steve was quiet on the drive back to the beach house. Catherine left him to his thoughts, having a good idea what was on his mind, and waited for him to speak when he was ready.

That time came sooner than she thought. When he parked the truck, he unfastened his seat belt and turned off the ignition, but he didn't immediately remove the key or move to exit the vehicle.

He took a deep breath, his head down but angled in her direction. "I'm sorry I avoided meeting your family for as long as I did, Catherine," he said softly.

"Steve . . ." she began, shaking her head and reaching for his hand.

"It just . . . loomed larger in my head with your parents," he pushed on, looking at her. "I knew you were so close with your family. And how I felt about you, even then . . . that all made it so huge." He sighed. "Plus I couldn't . . . reciprocate. Introduce you to any of mine." He gave a little shrug. "Carrie's, Freddie's, John's . . . they were safer. The . . . the stakes weren't so high, you know?"

She rubbed his hand soothingly. "I know. And I knew, back then." She shook her head firmly, leaning toward him. "I never judged you for it, Steve. Or resented you or anything like that."

He turned his hand over in hers, intertwining their fingers and squeezing gently. "I know you didn't. You probably should have, but I know you didn't. I think deep down I was . . . worried . . . about what they'd think of me. Even though we weren't exactly together. If they hadn't . . ." His voice trailed off, and he looked away, heaving a heavy sigh. He looked back at her and smiled softly. "But all I did was hurt myself, because your family's incredible. All of 'em. And they all welcomed me like . . . like I was part of the family."

She smiled, once again blinking back tears. "That's what you were. And are."

He nodded. "I know that now. But it wasn't always so easy to believe."

She paused, staring at him for a moment.

"You know I didn't . . . say everything I thought earlier," she began.

His brow creased in confusion.

"About the first time we met," she continued, holding his gaze. "I also thought you seemed lonely. You hid it well, and you were also genuinely happy and confident, but . . . I could sense loneliness, too."

"Yeah," he admitted quietly.

"So I wanted to be your friend. I didn't know what else might happen but . . . I wanted to take away some of that loneliness at least. If you'd let me."

"You did," he said without hesitation. "Right from the start."

He paused, his eyes locked on her, shaking his head slowly.

"How did I get so lucky?" he asked, a note of awe in his voice. "All those years ago. You and I in the same place at the same time."

"Not luck," she said quietly, shaking her head. "More like fate."

Exhaling a shaky breath, he reached up and threaded his fingers through her hair, leaning in and bringing her close with a gentle hand on the back of her head.

He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to hers. "I can't wait to be married to you," he whispered. "Feels like a . . . a culmination as well as a beginning."

She kissed him through her tears. "Yeah. That's exactly what it is," she said with feeling. "And I can't wait, either."

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed!**

Stay tuned for more of the REAL World Wedding Marathon tomorrow!

 _Keep track of all the REAL World stories on our Tumblr page - mcrollintherealworld at tumblr dot com - including a chronological list!_

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